1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terminal band feeding apparatus having a feeding reel on which there are spirally wound, in lamination, (i) a terminal band having, in a chain manner, terminal blanks used for electric wiring and (ii) a partitioning tape disposed on one surface of the terminal band for preventing the terminal blanks from becoming entangled with one another, the terminal band feeding apparatus being adapted to feed the terminal band by pulling out the tape from the feeding reel.
2. Description of the Related Art
In wiring electric or electronic machinery and tools, terminals are installed on wire ends with convenience for connection taken into consideration. Such terminal installation is carried out by automatically supplying a number of terminal blanks formed at regular spatial intervals by punching a band-like raw material. For the convenience of automation, the terminal blanks are to be supplied in the form of a terminal band wound on a feeding reel such that the wound terminal band has a diameter of about 500 to 700 mm. Thus, the terminal band has a number of terminal blanks formed at regular spatial intervals in the band-like raw material. Accordingly, when reeling out terminal blanks from the feeding reel, such terminal blanks are readily caught and entangled with one another. In this connection, a partitioning tape is disposed between adjacent layers of the terminal band wound on the feeding reel.
In a conventional continuous terminal crimping machine, there has been proposed a terminal band feeding apparatus in which such a partitioning tape is wound on a take-up reel and in which, by pulling out the partitioning tape from the feeding reel, the terminal band is reeled out and supplied toward the terminal crimping position of the continuous terminal crimping machine (See Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 4-12442)
In such a terminal band feeding apparatus using a partitioning tape, when the take-up reel is full with partitioning tape, the take-up reel is first removed from the continuous terminal crimping machine, the wound partitioning tape is then removed from the take-up reel and thrown away, and the empty take-up reel is mounted again on the continuous terminal crimping machine. However, such disposal of the partitioning tape accompanied with the removal and attachment of the take-up reel, takes much time and labor. Further, during such tape disposal, the continuous terminal crimping machine must to be stopped, causing the continuous terminal crimping machine to be lowered in working efficiency.
Meanwhile, when unnecessary tension is applied to a terminal band to be fed to the terminal crimping machine, each of the terminal blanks of the terminal band cannot be fed, as accurately positioned, to the terminal crimping machine. This increases the likelihood that a terminal is defectively crimped.
In the conventional terminal band feeding apparatus above-mentioned, a torque limiter mechanism is disposed at the take-up reel such that the partitioning tape is wound with predetermined tension applied thereto regardless of change in the winding diameter of the take-up reel. However, it is not possible to control, with high precision, the feed amount of the partitioning tape, i.e., the feed amount of the terminal band, by merely maintaining constant tension applied to the partitioning tape. Accordingly, the application of unnecessary tension to the terminal band cannot be avoided. This provokes a defective terminal crimping. It is therefore required that, with the terminal band feeding apparatus and the continuous terminal crimping machine stopped, the feeding reel is rotated by a predetermined amount in the feeding direction so as to remove unnecessary tension applied to the terminal band. This results in decrease in the working efficiency of the continuous terminal crimping machine.